Whether you're working on homes, bridges, or stadiums, as an architect, your creations must combine both beauty and form seamlessly. Your designs must be aesthetically pleasing and structurally sound, thus, making architecture both an art and a science. Not surprisingly, advanced training and certification are necessary for this challenging career field. The requirements vary from region to region, but there are typically three main steps involved with becoming a professional architect.

3 Main Architecture Career RequirementsCompleting a degree in architecture is the first step in the process. There are 5-year bachelor programs for those with no experience and 2-4 year master's programs for those with at least some engineering or architectural background. In these programs, you cover construction methods, physical sciences, interior design, computer-aided design (CAD), information technology, computer science, mathematics, and other related fields. After successfully completing your academic training, you apprentice with a firm or architect. Through this internship, you develop hands-on experience and practical exposure as you shadow your mentor and learn the tools of the trade. Thereafter, you're ready to take the Architect Registration Exam which certifies you as a licensed architect.

Additional Architecture Career RequirementsStrong communication skills and attention to detail are important parts of this job. Drawing ability used to be vital, but with CAD software on the rise, many of today's architects are becoming less dependent on paper and pencil. As the technology continues to advance, it is likely that computer science will figure even more prominently in the industry. By continually training yourself and becoming recertified, you can stay abreast of IT changes and ensure that your skills remain relevant in the future.